With Brexit still fresh in the memory of investors, Australia has been dealt another blow over the weekend due to the inconclusive results of the federal election.
While the odds offered by the bookies in the lead-up to Saturday's vote suggested a comfortable win for the Liberal party was on the agenda, the vote is now too close to call with a hung parliament a possibility. One way or another, the election does show that Australian voters have lost faith in the major political parties, resulting in heightened uncertainty.
Investors don't typically like uncertainty. As we saw on Friday 24 June (Sydney time) when Britain voted to leave the European Union, it caused share markets around the world to plummet, including a 3.2% dive for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO).
To be clear, I'm not pre-empting a knee-jerk reaction from the market today, nor this week. That's also not to say that it won't happen either, just that some shares could come under some selling pressure.
While uncertainty isn't great for investors who are focused on the short-term, it could create some great buying opportunities for those individuals who are willing to ignore the noise and focus on the long-run.
With that in mind, investors may want to keep an eye on the following businesses in case they do experience some selling pressure in the near future:
oOh!Media Ltd (ASX: OML) has had a terrific run over the last 12 months as it has continued to establish its leadership in the out-of-home (OOH) advertising space. The industry itself is expected to continue growing strongly, with oOh!Media particularly focused on expanding its dominance in the digital OOH market, which could help the company grow its margins in the future.
Burson Group Ltd (ASX: BAP) hit a record high last week which may tempt some investors to take some profits off the table in the near future. That could be an opportunity to buy. The company provides many of the parts necessary for the repair of older vehicles, which could be a somewhat defensive play during a period of heightened uncertainty.
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shareholders are no stranger to the fact that their shares can nosedive in the face of uncertainty. The shares took a dive last week following Brexit and remain almost 30% below their high price from March. While the shares could be a good buy now, there would be an even greater case to buy should they fall further from here.
Hansen Technologies Limited (ASX: HSN) shares rallied higher last week after the group confirmed a strategic acquisition which was first announced in May. Despite the jump in share price the company's shares still offer value today and it could be a good stock to hold if times do get tough. After all, their product (billing solutions) is considered 'mission critical' for many businesses, meaning that sales shouldn't be hit too hard even if the economy does falter from here.
